FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2020

“Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 33:8)

The Archbishop has asked his priests to ensure
that the celebration of First Holy Communion,
which was due to take place in the spring-summer of this year,
and was cancelled because of the Covid-19 virus,
take place before the end of the year.
I recently met with St. Mark’s Head Teacher, Mrs Margaret McFarlane, P4 Class Teacher, Mrs Maria Dunn,
and our parish catechist, Mrs Jacquie George,
and the decision was taken to have our First Holy Communion Mass
on Saturday, 10 October, at 10.00 am.

Due to the circumstances we are living in, this will be a lower-key affair than usual, celebrated in a similar way to our current Sunday Mass.
Numbers will be restricted to the 11 children making their First Holy Communion and 3 members of their family,
as well as 2 or 3 of the school staff.

Despite our difficulties, we shall have a happy celebration,
knowing that our young children’s hunger for the Bread of Life
is about to be satisfied by the Lord after such a lengthy postponement.
I am delighted to be able to welcome the children to the Lord’s table,
and I look forward with great anticipation to the celebration.
I shall be sending out a letter to the families of the children shortly.

Please remember the children and their families
in your prayers at this time.
(Canon Michael)

—————————————–

A message from parishioner Maureen Moscrop:

Over the past 8 years, parishioners of St Mark’s, friends and family, have raised a massive amount of money for Macmillan Cancer Support. This has been done through very generous donations at the coffee mornings.

A number of people have asked if the coffee morning would be possible this year. I am sad to say that I am unable to host this year due to the restrictions in place. I have thought about a number of different options but each raised problems.

Macmillan Cancer still needs our support and I am hopeful that next year I will again welcome people to join in the coffee morning at my home and enjoy a chat, a cuppa and some tasty treats.

For this year, if you would like to donate to Macmillan Cancer support, you can do so using this link.

https://thyg.uk/BUU004050087

Alternatively, I will happily accept donations and send them off to Macmillan.

Many, many thanks in advance for your generosity and support, it is greatly appreciated.

Maureen Moscrop

Join us for Mass!

If you know of anybody who is having difficulty booking a place at Mass for any reason whatsoever, please let us know so that we can help out.

In addition to the Vigil and Sunday Masses, there will be two weekday Masses celebrated at St. Mark’s every week: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10.00 am.

The obligation to attend Mass is still suspended but public Masses are back on at St. Mark’s in Oxgangs!

To facilitate social distancing and ensure the safety of everyone in attendance, numbers are limited, meaning it is necessary to book a place at Mass. This can be done through Eventbrite, where you will also find full details of what to expect.

Please note that you will be able to make bookings on behalf of others who may not have Internet access, although you will need to enter a name and contact telephone number for each booking.

Bookings for the Vigil Mass open at 5pm on Saturday of the week before and close at 6pm on the Friday immediately before.

Bookings for the Sunday Mass open at 10am on Sunday of the week before and close at 6pm on the Saturday immediately before.

For further details and to book a place for Mass, please click the relevant link below:

https://vigil_mass_at_stmarks_26sep.eventbrite.co.uk

https://sunday_mass_at_stmarks_27sep.eventbrite.co.uk

—————–

https://vigil_mass_at_stmarks_03oct.eventbrite.co.uk

https://sunday_mass_at_stmarks_04oct.eventbrite.co.uk

Message from CANON MICHAEL

"How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord, God of hosts.

My soul is longing and yearning.
is yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul ring out their joy
to God, the living God. 

The sparrow herself finds a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my king and my God. 

They are happy, who dwell in your house
for ever singing your praise….
One day within your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere."

(Psalm 83 [84])

These selected verses from Psalm 83 are described as a “pilgrimage song”, a “song of Zion praising God as host in his Temple, dispensing happiness and forgiveness to pilgrims and to all who serve in his sanctuary”. They come readily to my mind as the doors of our parish church, our spiritual home as children of God, are opened once again, not only for private prayer, but also for our re-union around the Lord’s altar to celebrate the Eucharist “in memory of the Lord Jesus”. After separation from our public worship for four months now, and experiencing hunger for the Bread of life, our hearts and souls will truly “ring out their joy”.

Sunday Mass will resume on Saturday, 1 August (Vigil-Mass at 5.00 pm) and Sunday, 2 August (Day-Mass at 10.00 am). Following the guidelines of the Scottish Government and of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, the Mass will be shorter than what we are used to in order that the time we spend together in an enclosed space does not become an aid to the spread of the virus. The number of worshippers will be limited to 38 who will be guided by the parish volunteers managing the assembly. A place at Mass needs to be booked in advance through the website “Eventbrite”. Please follow the instructions posted on our website.

Over the three weeks that we have opened the church for private prayer before the exposed Blessed Sacrament I have sensed the deep satisfaction of parishioners who were able to attend. At this stage I can only imagine what it will feel like both for me and for you to return to church for Mass. I look forward to it and seeing you once again, when God, our “host in his Temple”, will once again answer the request that is in all our hearts: “Lord, give us that bread always” (John 6:34).

Welcome back! See you soon, and God bless you all.

Canon Michael

Friday 24^th July 2020

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

If you are willing and able to act as a steward for mass, please contact us.
The intention is that three stewards cover each mass, helping worshipers follow social distancing guidelines and cleaning the pews after mass.